U.S. patent number 7,241,167 [Application Number 10/726,204] was granted by the patent office on 2007-07-10 for connector.
This patent grant is currently assigned to DDK Ltd.. Invention is credited to Takuya Higeta, Akio Yamada.
United States Patent |
7,241,167 |
Yamada , et al. |
July 10, 2007 |
Connector
Abstract
A connector includes a housing and a required number of pusher
members. The housing has a fitting aperture into which two or at
least three flexible printed circuit boards are inserted and
insertion openings for holding the required number of the pusher
members. When the two or at least three flexible printed circuit
boards are inserted into the fitting aperture of the housing,
contact portions of the two or at least three flexible printed
circuit boards are urged by the pusher members so as to be
connected to each other to achieve electrical continuity of the
connector. With this construction, the connector can be mounted on
anywhere with the exception of a flexible printed circuit board as
by adhesion or pushing down by a frame of the set without using
soldering, thereby permitting low cost manufacture and wide freedom
of selection of connector mechanisms.
Inventors: |
Yamada; Akio (Tokyo,
JP), Higeta; Takuya (Tokyo, JP) |
Assignee: |
DDK Ltd. (Tokyo,
JP)
|
Family
ID: |
32658574 |
Appl.
No.: |
10/726,204 |
Filed: |
December 2, 2003 |
Prior Publication Data
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Document
Identifier |
Publication Date |
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US 20040127092 A1 |
Jul 1, 2004 |
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Foreign Application Priority Data
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Dec 26, 2002 [JP] |
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2002-376154 |
Sep 30, 2003 [JP] |
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2003-339092 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
439/498; 439/298;
439/329; 439/260 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H01R
12/62 (20130101); H01R 12/7064 (20130101); H01R
2201/16 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
H01R
12/24 (20060101) |
Field of
Search: |
;439/290,298,61,329,260,632,680,495-498 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Nguyen; Truc
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Baker Botts LLP
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A connector comprising a housing and a required number of pusher
members, said housing including a fitting aperture into which at
least three flexible printed circuit boards are inserted, said
housing further including an insertion opening for holding said
required number of pusher members so that when said flexible
printed circuit boards are inserted into said fitting aperture of
said housing, contact portions of said at least three flexible
printed circuit boards are urged by two cantilever arms of said
pusher members so as to be connected to each other to achieve
electrical continuity of the connector, wherein said pusher members
have substantially a U-shape and are formed of a unitary part and
said pusher members each comprise pushing portions extending
towards the flexible printed circuit boards; wherein the pusher
members are entirely enclosed within the housing.
2. A connector comprising a housing and a required number of pusher
members, said housing including a fitting aperture into which two
flexible printed circuit boards are inserted, said housing further
including insertion openings for holding said required number of
pusher members so that when said flexible printed circuit boards
are inserted into said fitting aperture of said housing, contact
portions of said two flexible printed circuit boards are urged by
two cantilever arms of said pusher members so as to be connected to
each other to achieve electrical continuity of the connector,
wherein said pusher members have substantially a U-shape and are
formed of a unitary part and said pusher members each comprise
pushing portions extending towards the flexible printed circuit
boards; wherein the pusher members are entirely enclosed within the
housing.
3. The connector as set forth in claim 1 wherein said contact
portions of said at least three flexible printed circuit boards are
arranged in opposition to each other such that said contact
portions can be connected on being urged against each other by said
pusher members.
4. The connector as set forth in claim 2 wherein said contact
portions of said two flexible printed circuit boards are arranged
in opposition to each other such that said contact portions can be
connected on being urged against each other by said pusher
members.
5. The connector as set forth in claim 3 or 4 further comprising
positioning means for said flexible printed circuit boards.
6. The connector as set forth in claim 5 wherein said at least
three flexible printed circuit boards are each formed with slits
between the adjacent contact portions.
7. The connector as set forth in claim 5 wherein either, or both,
of said flexible printed circuit boards are each formed with slits
between the contact portions.
8. The connector as set forth in claim 5 wherein said at least
three flexible printed circuit boards are formed with slits between
each pair of two adjacent contact portions.
9. The connector as set forth in claim 5 wherein either, or both,
of said flexible printed circuit boards are formed with slits
between pairs of each two adjacent contact portions.
10. The connector as set forth in claim 5 wherein said at least
three flexible printed circuit boards are each formed with slits
between the adjacent contact portions arbitrarily selected to
provide a compliance to said adjacent contact portions.
11. The connector as set forth in claim 5 wherein either, or both,
of said flexible printed circuit boards are each formed with slits
between the adjacent contact portions arbitrarily selected to
provide a compliance to said adjacent contact portions.
12. The connector as set forth in claim 6 wherein said positioning
means comprises flanges at longitudinal ends of said housing, each
of said flanges being provided with a pin, and said flexible
printed circuit boards are formed with apertures for receiving said
pins such that when said pins are received in said apertures of
said flexible printed circuit boards, said contact portions of said
flexible printed circuit boards positionally coincide with each
other.
13. The connector as set forth in claim 4 further comprising
positioning means for said flexible printed circuit boards.
14. The connector as set forth in claim 11 wherein said positioning
means comprises flanges at longitudinal ends of said housing, each
of said flanges being provided with a pin, and said flexible
printed circuit boards are formed with apertures for receiving said
pins such that when said pins are received in said apertures of
said flexible printed circuit boards, said contact portions of said
flexible printed circuit boards positionally coincide with each
other.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a connector for use in miniature
electronic appliances such as terminal equipment of cellular or
portable telephones, and more particularly to a connector using
flexible printed circuit boards adapted to be electrically
connected in a simple manner.
In general, a connector includes a required number of contacts and
a housing fixing therein said contacts and having a fitting
aperture into which a flexible printed circuit board is inserted.
These contacts are fixed to the housing by press-fitting, lancing
or hooking or the like. In the case of two flexible printed circuit
boards to be connected, connection portions of contacts of such a
connector are fixed to one flexible printed circuit board as by
soldering. When the other printed circuit board is inserted into
the fitting aperture of the housing, the other flexible printed
circuit board is connected to contact portions of the contacts of
the connector, thereby achieving electrical continuity of the two
flexible printed circuit boards.
The miniature electronic appliances such as terminal equipment of
portable telephones have been developed to increase their
functions, while at the same time such electronic appliances have
been even more miniaturized so that spaces given to their inner
components have been surprisingly reduced.
In order to solve this problem, one attempt has been made to form a
connector having thin walls to provide a space therein as wide as
possible. However, such a connector suffers a disadvantage from the
fact that it may be warped due to heating during soldering process.
On the other hand, the increased functions of the appliances would
involve increased soldering steps in manufacturing processes which
would inhibit desired reduction of manufacturing cost. As a result
of employing soldering as fixing means, there is no area for
mounting the connector other than a flexible printed circuit board,
limiting freedom of selection of connector mechanisms.
Moreover, there is a case that without using a connector a flexible
printed circuit board is directly connected to a mating circuit
board by soldering or, in particular, by the use of ACF
(anisotropic conductive film). In such a case, however,
disassembling for required maintenance would become impossible
which is inconvenient.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the invention to provide a connector which
eliminates all the disadvantages of the prior art described above
and can be mounted on anywhere other than a flexible printed
circuit board (as by adhesion, or pushing down by a frame of the
set) without using soldering, thereby permitting significantly low
cost manufacture and widening freedom of selection of connector
mechanisms.
In order to achieve this object, the connector according to the
invention comprises a housing and a required number of pusher
members, the housing including a fitting aperture into which at
least three flexible printed circuit boards are inserted, the
housing further including insertion openings for holding the
required number of pusher members so that when the flexible printed
circuit boards are inserted into the fitting aperture of the
housing, contact portions of the at least three flexible printed
circuit boards are urged by the pusher members so as to be
connected to each other to achieve electrical continuity of the
connector.
In another aspect of the invention for accomplishing the above
object, the connector comprises a housing and a required number of
pusher members, the housing including a fitting aperture into which
two flexible printed circuit boards are inserted, the housing
further including insertion openings for holding the required
number of pusher members so that when the flexible printed circuit
boards are inserted into the fitting aperture of the housing,
contact portions of the two flexible printed circuit boards are
urged by the pusher members so as to be connected to each other to
achieve electrical continuity of the connector.
The term "a required number" of pusher members as used in this
specification and claims is to be understood to mean the number of
the pusher members required to perform the pusher member's
function, so that the required number may be one or plural so long
as the function is fulfilled.
The contact portions of two or at least three flexible printed
circuit boards are preferably arranged in opposition to each other
such that the contact portions can be connected on being urged
against each other by the required number of pusher members. Such
an arrangement of the contact portions in opposition to each other
ensures electrical connection of these portions being urged with
great certainty.
In a preferred embodiment, the connector is provided with
positioning means for the flexible printed circuit boards, thereby
achieving reliable connection between the contact portions of the
circuit boards. The positioning means comprises flanges at
longitudinal ends of the housing, each of the flanges being
provided with a pin, and the flexible printed circuit boards are
formed with apertures for receiving the pins such that when the
pins are received in the apertures of the flexible printed circuit
boards, the contact portions of the flexible printed circuit boards
positionally coincide with each other.
In one embodiment, at least three flexible printed circuit boards
are each formed with slits between the adjacent contact portions or
between pairs of each two adjacent contact portions or between
contact portions arbitrarily selected to provide a compliance to
these contact portions. By providing such slits, there is no longer
any risk of mating contact portions being not or incompletely in
contact with each other due to variances in height of the contact
portions. In this manner, the contact portions of at least three
flexible printed circuit boards can be securely connected to each
other.
In a further embodiment, either, or both, of two flexible printed
circuit boards are each formed with slits between the contact
portions or between pairs of two adjacent contact portions or
between contact portions arbitrarily selected to provide a
compliance to these contact portions. By providing such slits,
there is no longer any risk of mating contact portions being not or
incompletely in contact with each other due to variances in height
of the contact portions. The contact portions of the two flexible
printed circuit boards can be certainly connected to each other in
this manner.
Preferably, the pusher members have substantially a U-shape. With
this shape, the two flexible printed circuit boards are embraced by
two arms of the U-shaped pusher members to connect the contact
portions of the two flexible printed circuit boards reliably.
Pushing portions of the pusher members preferably extend toward the
flexible printed circuit boards, thereby enabling the two boards to
be urged against each other.
The subject feature of the invention lies in the pusher members
which are able to urge with their pushing portions the flexible
printed circuit boards to connect the contact portions of the
circuit boards to each other so as to achieve the electrical
continuity of the connecter by merely inserting the circuit boards
into the fitting aperture of the housing of the connector.
As can be seen from the above description, the connector according
to the invention can bring about the following significant
functions and effects.
(1) The connector according to the invention comprises a required
number of pusher members and a housing having a fitting aperture
for receiving two or at least three flexible printed circuit boards
inserted therein and insertion openings holding the pusher members
so that when the flexible printed circuit boards are inserted into
the fitting aperture, the circuit boards are urged by the pusher
members so as to cause contact portions of the circuit boards to be
connected to each other to achieve electrical continuity of the
connector. With this construction, there is no need for soldering
in manufacture and the connector can be located anywhere with the
exception of circuit boards (by means of an adhesive or pushing
down by a frame of the set without using soldering), thereby
lowering manufacturing cost and widening freedom of design of
connector mechanisms. (2) According to the invention at least three
flexible printed circuit boards are each formed with slits between
adjacent contact portions or between pairs of each two adjacent
contact portions or between contact portions arbitrarily selected,
thereby providing flexibility to these contact portions. (3)
According to the invention at least three flexible printed circuit
boards are each formed with slits between adjacent contact portions
or between each pair of two adjacent contact portions or between
contact portions arbitrarily selected to provide a compliance to
these contact portions. Consequently, the contact portions of these
circuit boards can be reliably connected electrically to each other
even if there are variances in height of the contact portions of
the circuit boards. Soldering is not required, and stable
connection and easy positioning are possible. (4) According to the
invention either, or both, of two flexible printed circuit boards
are formed with slits between adjacent contact portions, or between
pairs of two adjacent contact portions or between contact portions
arbitrarily selected, thereby providing flexibility to these
contact portions of the circuit boards. (5) According to the
invention either, or both, of two flexible printed circuit boards
are formed with slits between adjacent contact portions, or between
pairs of two adjacent contact portions or between contact portions
arbitrarily selected to provide a compliance to these contact
portions. Therefore, the contact portions of these circuit boards
can be connected to each other with certainty, despite the fact
that there may be variances in height of the contact portions of
the circuit boards. It is thus achieved that there is no need to
use soldering in manufacture, and it is also achieved to obtain
stable connection and easy positioning. (6) According to the
invention, the contact portions of two or at least three flexible
printed circuit boards are arranged oppositely each other so that
the contact portions can be connected electrically when the circuit
boards are urged against each other by means of the pusher members.
Therefore, by merely inserting these circuit boards into the
fitting aperture of the housing of the connector, the contact
portions can be readily connected to each other to obtain a stable
connection of the circuit boards. (7) According to the invention
the pusher members are substantially U-shaped having two arms which
will embrace therebetween two or at least three flexible printed
circuit boards to obtain a stable connection therebetween without
using soldering. (8) The pusher members used in the connector
according to the invention each includes pushing portions extending
toward the circuit boards so that when the circuit boards are
inserted into the fitting aperture of the housing of the connector,
these circuit boards are pushed toward each other by the inwardly
extending pusher members to obtain a stable connection of the
circuit boards without using soldering. (9) According to the
invention the connector is provided on the housing with positioning
means for the flexible printed circuit boards, thereby securely
connecting the contact portions of these circuit boards. (10)
According to the invention the positioning means for the flexible
printed circuit boards comprises flanges at both longitudinal ends
of the housing, each of the flanges being provided with a pin. On
the other hand, the flexible printed circuit boards are each formed
with apertures at locations corresponding to the pins such that
when the pins are received in the aperture of the circuit boards,
the contact portions of the circuit boards positionally coincide
with each other. Therefore, the contact portions of the circuit
boards can be connected to each other with great certainly.
The invention will be more fully understood by referring to the
following detailed specification and claims taken in connection
with the appended drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a connector according to the
invention and flexible printed circuit boards viewed from the side
of its fitting aperture;
FIG. 2A is a cross-sectional view of the connector taken along a
line a-a in FIG. 1 prior to insertion of flexible printed circuit
boards;
FIG. 2B is a cross-sectional view similar to FIG. 2A but with the
circuit boards inserted in the connector;
FIG. 3A is a cross-sectional view of the circuit boards taken along
a line between two slits, with contact portions being
connected;
FIG. 3B is a cross-sectional view of the circuit boards taken along
one slit, with contact portions being connected;
FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a connector according to the
invention into which three flexible printed circuit boards are
about to be inserted;
FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a connector according to the
invention into which four flexible printed circuit boards are about
to be inserted;
FIG. 6 is a sectional view of the connector taken along a line a-a
in FIG. 4 after the circuit boards have been inserted; and
FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a flexible printed circuit board
formed with slits at locations different from those already
illustrated.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
One exemplary connector according to the present invention will be
explained by referring to the drawings. FIG. 1 illustrates in a
perspective view the connector according to the invention, whose
cross-section taken along a line a-a in FIG. 1 is shown in FIG. 2A
before insertion of flexible printed circuit boards, while FIG. 2B
illustrates the similar cross-section, with the flexible printed
circuit boards inserted therein. FIGS. 3A and 3B illustrate two
flexible printed circuit boards with their contact portions being
connected in cross-sections taken along a line between slits and
taken along one of the slits, respectively. FIGS. 4 and 5 show in
perspective views a connector according to the invention adapted to
receive three and four flexible printed circuit boards,
respectively. FIG. 6 is a cross-section taken along a line a-a in
FIG. 4 illustrating a state of the connector with the circuit
boards inserted therein. FIG. 7 illustrates in a perspective view
part of a flexible printed circuit board formed with slits at
varied locations.
The connector 10 according to the invention mainly comprises a
housing 12 and a plurality of pusher members 14. The connector in
the illustrated embodiment has a configuration capable of
connecting contact portions 36 of the plural number of flexible
printed circuit boards 16 merely by inserting these circuit boards
16 into the housing 12. Components of the connector according to
the invention will be explained in detail referring to the
drawings.
The housing 12 is injection molded in the conventional manner from
an electrically insulating plastic material. Preferred materials
from which to form the housing 12 include polybutylene
terephthalate (PBT), polyamide (66 PA or 46 PA), liquid crystal
polymer (LCP), polycarbonate (PC) and the like and combination
thereof in view of the requirements imposed on the housing with
respect to dimensional stability, workability, manufacturing cost
and the like.
The housing 12 is formed with a fitting aperture 18 into which the
plural number of flexible printed circuit boards 16 are inserted
through its open end, and insertion openings 22 in which a required
number of pusher members 14 are inserted and fixed thereat by
press-fitting, lancing or hooking, welding or the like in a manner
such that pushing portions 20 of the pusher members 14 extend into
the interior of the fitting aperture 18. The insertion openings 22
are formed in the housing 12 such that the pushing portions 20 of
the pusher members 14 received in the insertion openings 22
positionally correspond to the contact portions 36 of the flexible
printed circuit boards 16 inserted in the housing 12. The insertion
openings 22 are also sized in design to securely fix and retain the
pusher members 14 in consideration of the strength of the housing
and the size of the pusher members 14 themselves. The fitting
aperture 18 of the housing 12 may be sized to be able to receive
the plural number of flexible printed circuit boards on the basis
of the dimension of the flexible printed circuit boards.
The housing 12 is provided with positioning means for positioning
and fixing the flexible printed circuit boards 16. The positioning
means may comprise flanges 24 at both longitudinal ends of the
housing 12, on each of which is provided with a pin 26 for
positioning the circuit boards 16. The pins 26 may be formed
integrally with or formed separately from the housing 12, depending
upon targeted manufacturing cost and workability of the housing.
The pins 26 may be formed with a notch 28 for preventing the
circuit boards 16 from being dislodged from the pins as shown in
FIG. 1. However, pins 26 not having a notch 28 are more preferable
for accurate positioning of the contact portions 36 of the circuit
boards 16 and suffice to fix and hold the circuit boards. The pins
26 may be of circular cylinder, rectangular column or the like so
long as they can perform positioning, fixing and holding of the
flexible printed circuit boards.
The pusher members 14 serve to urge more than two flexible printed
circuit boards 16 so as to bring about the contact portions 36 of
the circuit boards 16 into contact with each other when these
circuit boards are inserted into the fitting aperture of the
housing 12. The fundamental difference of the pusher members 14
from usual contacts is that no electric signals flow therethrough.
Therefore, the pusher members 14 may be made of either a metal or
plastic material so long as they can perform their functions
described above. However, the pusher members 14 may be preferably
made of a metal in consideration of times of insertion and removal
of the circuit boards and springiness which may be required. The
pusher members 14 made of a metal are formed by press-working.
Preferred materials for the pusher members include brass, beryllium
copper, phosphor bronze and the like to fulfil the requirements
imposed thereon, springiness, easiness in insertion and removal of
circuit boards and the like. When a plastic material is used for
the pusher members, the insulating plastic material for the housing
12 may be used.
The pusher member 14 mainly comprises pushing portions 20 for
urging the circuit boards 16 and a fixing portion 38 for fixing the
pusher member 14 to the housing 12. The pushing portions 20 of the
pusher members 14 are in the form of a projection and extend toward
each other so as to urge the circuit boards inwardly with ease. In
the illustrated embodiment, the pusher members 14 are substantially
of a U-shape and fitted in the housing so that the pushing portions
20 correspond to the contact portions 36 of the circuit boards 16
inserted in the housing 12. Therefore, the pushing portions 20 of
the pusher members 14 are in opposition to each other and embrace
two or at least three circuit boards 16 therebetween. The spacing
between the opposed pushing portions 20 of the pusher members 14 is
suitably so designed as to bring about the contact portions 36 of
the two or at least three circuit boards 16 into contact with each
other when these circuit boards 16 have been inserted.
While the pushing portions 20 of the pusher members 14 are arranged
in opposition to each other in the illustrated embodiment, it will
be apparent that the pusher members 14 may have only one pushing
portion 20 in so far as they can perform their functions. However,
it is preferable to provide the pushing portions 20 in opposition
to each other for the complete connection between the contact
portions 36 of the circuit boards 16.
Although the number of the pusher members 14 corresponds to that of
contact portions 36 of the circuit boards 16 in the illustrated
embodiment, it is to be understood that only one pusher member 14
may be provided so long as it serves to perform the function
commensurate with those of a plurality of pusher members 14. The
term "one" is here understood as signifying one pusher member
consisting of some pusher members integrally formed. It may also be
a unitary member consisting of all the pusher members corresponding
to the contact portions of the circuit boards. Therefore, the term
"a required number" of pusher members used herein includes the
pusher members of the number corresponding to the contact portions
of the circuit boards, a plurality of pusher members each being a
unitary member consisting of some pusher members, and a single
pusher member formed integrally of all the pusher members of the
number corresponding to that of all the contact portions of the
circuit boards.
Finally, the flexible printed circuit boards will be explained in
detail. The connector 10 according to the invention achieves its
electrical connection by pushing the contact portions 36 of two or
at least three flexible printed circuit boards 16 against each
other by the pusher members 14. Therefore, the connector according
to the invention is characterized in the feature of connecting two
or at least three flexible printed circuit boards by the use of
these circuit boards themselves. The contact portions 36 of the two
or at least three flexible printed circuit boards are arranged in
opposition to each other so that merely by inserting these circuit
boards into the fitting aperture 18 of the housing 12, these
contact portions 36 are connected to each other.
When the flexible printed circuit boards are inserted into the
fitting aperture 18 of the housing 12, there may be a risk that the
mating contact portions are not or incompletely in contact with
each other due to variances in height of the contact portions. In
order to avoid this problem, the flexible printed circuit board 16
is formed with a required number of slits 30 between the contact
portions 36 or between pairs of each two adjacent contact portions
as shown in FIG. 7 or between the contact portions arbitrarily
selected to provide a compliance or flexibility to these contact
portions, thereby ensuring complete connection between the opposed
contact portions of the circuit boards even if there are somewhat
variances in height of the contact portions. In the embodiments
shown in FIGS. 1, 4 and 5, slits 30 are provided between the
contact portions 36 so that the number of the slits 30 is one less
than the number of the contact portions 36.
As describe above with FIG. 7, the slits 30 are provided between
pairs of each two adjacent contact portions 36 of the circuit
boards 16. Moreover, the slits 30 may be provided only between
arbitrarily selected contact portions of the circuit boards (not
shown). The size of the slits 30 may be suitably designed in
consideration of the strength of the circuit boards and complete
connection of the contact portions of two or at least three
flexible printed circuit boards. The slits may extend in a manner
completely passing through the thickness of the circuit board, or
in another case they may be formed as grooves having a bottom so
long as they can provide a required compliance. The slits may be
designed in consideration of the flexibility and workability of the
circuit boards. The slits in the illustrated embodiments extend
through the thickness of the circuit boards.
The following cases can be considered as to the term "two or at
least three circuit boards". As shown in FIG. 1, two flexible
printed circuit boards are inserted into the fitting aperture 18 of
the housing 12. In the case shown in FIG. 4, three flexible printed
circuit boards are inserted into the fitting portion of the fitting
aperture 18 of the housing 12. In the case shown in FIG. 5, two
boards one above the other on the left and further two boards one
above the other on the right, that is, four boards 16 are inserted
into the fitting aperture 18 of the housing 12. More than four
boards may be possible (not shown). For example, at least two
groups each consisting of at least three circuit boards arranged
one above the other may be arranged side by side.
In the case as shown in FIG. 5 provided with the plurality of
circuit boards on the left and right, it is preferable to provide
further positioning means in the proximity of adjacent ends of the
circuit boards on the left and right. For example, adjacent ends of
the circuit boards 16 on the left and right are formed with
apertures or grooves and the housing 12 is also formed with
apertures at locations corresponding to the apertures or grooves of
the circuit boards upon being inserted in the housing 12, whereby
after the circuit boards have been inserted into the fitting
aperture 18 of the housing 12, pins are inserted into the
corresponding apertures or grooves of the circuit boards and the
housing 12 to achieve the positioning of the circuit boards.
Returning to the positioning means including the flanges 24 and the
pins 26 described above, the flexible printed circuit boards 16 are
each formed with apertures 34 at locations corresponding to the
pins 26, so that the engagement of the pins 26 and the apertures 34
ensures the positioning of the circuit boards 16. The apertures 34
may be of any shape, circular or elliptical so long as they can
perform their function. The circuit boards 16 are each further
formed with relief slits 32 to avoid any interference with walls of
the housing 12. The relief slits 32 may be of any shape so long as
it prevents the interference with the housing 12 and may be
suitably designed in consideration of the workability of the
circuit board.
The most preferable application of the present invention is, but is
not limited to, a connector with flexible printed circuit boards
for use with miniature electronic appliances such as terminal
equipment of portable telephones.
While the invention has been particularly shown and described with
reference to the preferred embodiments thereof, it will be
understood by those skilled in the art that the foregoing and other
changes in form and details can be made therein without departing
from the spirit and scope of the invention.
* * * * *